MMT III BULLETIN 4 • Friday, February 12, 2021 • editor Christina Lund Madsen • [email protected] MONTHLY MIXED TEAMS

ONLINE BRIDGE EVENTS • MMT.BRIDGERESULTS.ORG

Turkey & Strawberries

The Americans would correct to Cranberries, but since our last American team got knocked out yesterday, Turkey and Strawberries is what we have left. Just Spinnin decided they had better things to spend their Thursday on than the Sisyphos-task of catching the Strawberries' 102-33.1-lead after two segments, and so we say adieu to the Americans after a strong per- formance during the event. Our other French team did not suc- ceed making it an all-French final, when they lost 127.1-95 to Turkish National Mix. Hilda Setton likes her Strawberries What will it be today? Turkey or Photo: Festival Juan-les-Pins Strawberries?

All players should enter BBO 10 Today’s Schedule minutes before the beginning of a Friday February 12 match. TD Denis Dobrin will instruct you where to sit. All players must 10:30 EST / 16:30 CET – Final 1/3 (16 boards) have their name in their BBO-profile. 10 minutes break – Final 2/3 (16 boards) Private isn't allowed for the sake of 10 minutes break – Final 3/3 (16 boards) opponents and kibitzers.

- 1 - Knockout Results

Future events Results mmt.bridgeresults.org

Monthly Mixed Teams in 2021 22-24 February February Mixed Pairs on RealBridge 8 - 12 March St. Louis Mixed Teams Registration 22 - 26 March March Mixed Teams Registration 12 - 16 April April Mixed Teams 17 - 21 May May Mixed Teams 7 - 11 June June Mixed Teams See the full calendar for 2021 at mmt.bridgeresults.org

- 2 - Flying Starts

By Mark Horton

The first session of the semifinals saw a the ace, cashed the ♣A, ruffed a club, drew team in each match build up a significant trumps and tried the hearts, which added lead. up to eight tricks, -200.

First we take a look at Turkish National The simple approach is to draw trumps Mix vs. Austerlitz: and then hope to score three heart tricks along with a club and a diamond. That Board 5. Dealer North. NS Vul. would have worked on this layout. ♠ A 4 ♥ A Q 5 4 WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH ♦ 3 2 Kokten Bogacki Aluf Sauvage ♣ A J 10 3 2 — 1NT Pass 2♥* ♠ 10 9 8 2 ♠ 7 3 ♥ K 7 ♥ J 8 3 2 Pass 2♠ Pass 3♦ ♦ Q 10 9 5 ♦ A J 8 Pass 3NT All Pass ♣ Q 9 5 ♣ K 7 6 4 ♠ K Q J 6 5 ♥ 10 9 6 2♥ Transfer ♦ K 7 6 4 ♣ 8

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH Rossard Zorlu Romanowski Sanus — 1♣ Pass 1♥* Pass 1♠* Pass 3♠* Pass 4♠ All Pass

1♥ Spades 1♠ 3♠ 3♠ Invite

East led the ♠3 and declarer won with the ace, played a spade to the king and the Valerie Sauvage ♥10, covered by the king and ducked. West returned the ♥7 and declarer won with

- 3 - WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH Setton Hinze Franceschetti Enfield Pass Pass 1♦ Pass 1NT Pass 2♠ Pass 3♣ Pass 3♦ Pass 5♦ Pass 6♦ All Pass

South led the ♦7 and declarer won with the nine, cashed the ace and then played the ♣Q. North took the ace and tried the ♥K, but declarer could win and claim, +920. Kay Enfield

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH A Cappelletti Bessis M Cappelletti Baroni East led the ♥2 for the nine, king and ace Pass Pass 1♦ 2♥ and declarer played back a heart, East win- ning with the jack and switching to the Pass 3♥ 3NT All Pass ♣4 for the king and ace. Declarer cashed winners and finished with ten tricks, +630 and 13 IMPs. South led the ♥J and declarer won with the ace and played three rounds of dia- In the other semifinal Just Spinnin vs. monds ending in dummy, South discar- Strawberries both pairs reached the safe ding the ♥10 and the ♠9. When a spade to haven of 3NT. We switch to that match: the queen lost the contract was two down, -100 and 14 IMPs changed hands.

Board 8. Dealer West. None Vul. Turkey National Mix vs. Austerlitz: ♠ 10 6 5 2

♥ K 7 6 4 WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH ♦ 10 5 2 Rossard Zorlu Romanowski Sanus ♣ A 4 ♠ 8 7 4 ♠ A Q 3 Pass Pass 2NT Pass ♥ Q 3 ♥ A 3NT All Pass ♦ K 8 3 ♦ A Q J 9 6 4 ♣ K J 10 8 3 ♣ Q 9 6 ♠ K J 9 South led the heart jack to declarer's ace. ♥ J 10 9 8 5 2 There was no heart discard this time so ♦ 7 when declarer took the spade finesse he ♣ 7 5 2 was three down, -150.

- 4 - WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH Jerzy Romanowski Kokten Bogacki Aluf Sauvage Pass Pass 1♦ 2♥ Pass 3♥ Dble* Pass 4♥* Pass 5♦ All Pass

Dble Takeout

That was worth 11 IMPs for Turkey.

Board 10. Dealer East All Vul.

♠ 9 4 ♥ K Q 9 8 7 5 ♦ A 4 ♣ J 9 7 WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH ♠ 8 5 3 2 ♠ K Q 10 7 6 A Cappelletti Bessis M Cappelletti Baroni ♥ A 4 ♥ J 6 3 2 — — Pass 1♣ ♦ K 10 9 8 7 5 ♦ J 1♦ 2♦* 2♠ Pass ♣ K ♣ Q 6 2 ♠ A J 3♠ 4♥ 4♠ Pass ♥ 10 Pass Dble All Pass ♦ Q 6 3 2 ♣ A 10 8 5 4 3 2♦ 6+♥, wide range

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH South led the ♥T and declarer won with Setton Hinze Franceschetti Enfield dummy's ace and played the ♣K, South winning and switching to the ♦3 for the — — Pass 2♣* king and ace. North cashed the ♥K and Pass 2♥* Pass 3♣ continued with the 7, promoting South's ♠J for two down, -500 and a 9 IMP swing. All Pass

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 2♣ 10-15, 6+♣ Rossard Zorlu Romanowski Sanus 2♥ Constructive, non-forcing — — Pass 1♣ West led the ♦8 and declarer won with the 1♦ 1♥ 1♠ 2♣ queen and played the ♥10, West taking the 2♠ Dble Pass 3♣ ace and returning the ♦5. East ruffed and switched to the ♠K which declarer won, Pass Pass 3♠ All Pass following it with two rounds of clubs. East could win and cash the ♠Q, but declarer An identical defence to that in the other claimed the rest, +110. match meant the contract was one down, -100.

- 5 - Strawberries had outscored Just Spinnin 58-14.1, while Turkish National Mix were leading Austerlitz 55.1-22.

In the second set the Strawberries built their lead to 102-33.1, and Just Spinnin resigned with 16 boards to go.

Austerlitz fought for their life against the Turkish in the third segment, but to no avail despite 10 IMPs from this board.

Board 6. Dealer East. EW Vul. Brigitte Aubonnet ♠ 3 ♥ AT964 ♦ KJ7 WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH ♣ KQ54 Kokten Bogacki Aluf Sauvage ♠ A85 N ♠ 9764 — — Pass 1♣ ♥ J87 W E ♥ 532 ♦ 9432 S ♦ 1♦ Dble* 1♠ 2♣ AQ8 ♣ A86 ♣ J72 3♠ Dble Pass 4♣ ♠ KQJT2 All Pass ♥ KQ ♦ T65 Dble Hearts ♣ T93

West led the ♠8 for the queen and ace and WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH declarer played the ♥10, West taking the Joligeon Aluf Aubonnet Sanus ace and playing a second spade. Having — — Pass 1♠ won with the a king East switched to the ♦J declarer winning with dummy's ace Pass 2♥ Pass 2♠ and playing off the top hearts discarding Pass 2NT Pass 3NT diamonds. West ruffed cashed the♦ K and All Pass continued with the ten. Declarer could ruff with dummy's ♣7 and then run the nine, one down, -100 and a 5 IMP loss. Brigitte Aubonnet led the ♣7, her partner winning the ace and returning a diamond. Both sides had missed a difficult chance; East cleared the suit, and in with the ♠A, If East ruffs the♦ K and exits with the ♥J West could cash the setting diamond. declarer will have to lose a trick to the ♣Q 3NT made in the other room after an and be two down. Having taken the ♦A inspired ♦Q-lead. if declarer guesses to run the ♥9 she can The final result was 127.1-95 for Turkish then play two rounds of trumps and will National Mix, ready for the Strawberries in be able to enjoy dummy's hearts. today's final.

- 6 - A Triple Squeeze By Toine van Hoof

One of the most interesting deals of the Four times a diamond was led. Now 4♥ 2021 February Mixed Teams was Board 1 can only be made on double dummy lines. from Round 3: Thomas Bessis, Ish Delmonte, Daniel Eriksson and Martine Rossard all went Dealer North. None Vul. down. ♠ A 8 6 5 4 3 ♥ A 8 6 4 3 David Gold and Sedat Aluf were allowed ♦ 4 to make 4♠. If East leads a top diamond ♣ 9 and then switches to a club (or to the ♥2), ♠ Q 9 ♠ K J 2 declarer will lose a diamond, two spades ♥ J ♥ 10 9 7 2 and a heart. ♦ 8 7 6 3 ♦ A K J 10 ♣ Q J 8 6 4 2 ♣ 7 5 WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH ♠ 10 7 Garcia da Rosa Gold Fox Seale ♥ K Q 5 – 2♠* Pass 2NT* ♦ Q 9 5 2 ♣ A K 10 3 Pass 4♥* Pass 4♠ All Pass North has a six loser hand. Five players decided to open 1♠, one opened 2♠ (8-11) and the other four entered the bidding at a 2♠ 8-11 2NT asking 4♥ 6♠+5♥ later stage to show both majors. Judy Fox led the ♦K and continued with All NS pairs ended in a game contract: six the ♦A. Now declarer had two pitches for in 4♥, two in 4♠ and two in 3NT. Double his heart losers. dummy only 4♥ can be made. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH Twice West led a club against 4♥. Declarer Alpert Aluf Versace Sanus can discard his diamond loser, give up a – 1♠ Dble Redble spade, ruff a spade high, draw two rounds of trumps and run the spades. All he will 2♣ 2♠ Pass 4♠ lose is a spade and two hearts. All Pass

Cenk Tunkoç cashed the ♥K before ducking a spade. When East overtook the Alfredo Versace had less to go on. He also ♠9 with the jack to play a trump, declarer tried to cash a second diamond trick, emerged with an overtrick. expecting it to be the only way to possibly beat 4♠. Carlos Pellegrini drew king and queen of hearts and could no longer win the con- The other two pairs ended up in 3NT after tract. identical auctions:

- 7 - WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH Bogacki Thiele Sauvage Verdegaal Setton Hinze Franceschetti Enfield – 1♠ Dble Redble 2♣ 2♥ Pass 3NT All Pass

Both Patrick Bogacki and Hilda Setton hit upon the unfortunate lead of a small club. Mark Thiele and Renée Now 3NT is cold as Renée Verdegaal Verdegaal. demonstrated. Photo: Madeira Open After winning the first trick with♣ 9 she played a small spade. Sauvage rose with the king and cashed the ♦AK. She conti- After winning with the ♠K he shifted to nued with the ♦J to South’s queen. A spade the ♦J. Enfield put up the queen, played a to the ace was followed by a heart to the spade to the ace and a heart to the queen. king. Declarer cashed the ♣A to reach this When she cashed her top clubs East was ending: squeezed out his ♦10. This was the ending:

♠ 8 6 ♠ 8 6 ♥ A 8 6 ♥ A 8 6 4 ♦ – ♦ – ♣ – ♣ – ♠ – ♠ J ♠ – ♠ J ♥ – ♥ 10 9 2 ♥ – ♥ 10 9 7 ♦ 8 ♦ 10 ♦ 8 7 3 ♦ A K ♣ Q J 8 4 ♣ – ♣ Q J 8 ♣ – ♠ – ♠ – ♥ Q 5 ♥ K 5 ♦ 9 ♦ 9 5 2 ♣ K 10 ♣ 10

She needed four of the remaining five Enfield cashed the♥ K and was one off. tricks. On the ♣K a spade was discarded East’s take-out double over 1♠ and the from dummy and East was caught in a fall of the ♥J should have made declarer triple squeeze. Hoping her partner held suspect hearts were 4-1. A diamond will the ♦9 she threw the ♦10. Verdegaal now endplay East. If a spade was discarded scored the ♦9 and two heart tricks for a from dummy, he can cash the ♠J, but he splendid plus 400. cannot afford to cash a second diamond as this will set up the ♦9. So he exits with the Kay Enfield also played a spade from ♥10. South wins with the king and again dummy in trick two but was treated to a endplays East with another diamond, for- tougher defense by Pierre Franceschetti. cing him to lead into the ♥A8 in dummy.

- 8 - DISCOVER THE NEW

M O N E M P L O I D U T E M P S THE JANUARY ISSUE HAS JUST BEEN RELEASED!

In this issue The first 2021 issue of BeBRIDGE is packed with outstanding articles. The Riddle of the Hands updates you on the race to stamp out online cheating, while The Online Contact Bridge League offers an insight into some of the strongest online events. David Bird's Abbot is here with the latest instalment of the adventures of his bridge playing monks and Alain Lévy takes a penetrating look at 2 over one game forcing. Add to those all the regular articles that will maximise your bridge playing skills and fine tune your bidding systems it's an issue you must have. M O N J O U R N A L D E R E P A S M E S E N T R A Î N E M E N T S Why digital? Always have your magazine at your fingertips. You can read BeBRIDGE wherever you are. No need to worry about the size of the font as you can zoom in on every page.

Want to join the club? It couldn't be simpler to subscribe: - through the website: bridge-eshop.com/en/ - by phone at: +33 (0)1 42 96 25 50 - by email at: [email protected] MONTHLY MIXED PAIRS FEBRUARY 22-24 ON REALBRIDGE

READ MORE AND REGISTER AT MMT.BRIDGERESULTS.ORG

Introducing the Monthly Mixed Pairs on RealBridge Due to popular demand the Monthly Mixed Teams will host our first Monthly Mixed Pairs.

Dates: February 22-24 Time: 11:00 Eastern time/17:00 CET - 3:00/21:00 Format: Matchpoints. Two days of qualification followed by A- and B-finals. 1/3 of the field will qualify for the A-final. Entry fee: 100 euro/120 dollars for three days of play (juniors half price) Boards 30-32 boards/day depending on number of participants. Either with a small break halfway through the event or enough time to go get a snack or coffee. Platform: RealBridge (realbridge.online) Registration: mmt.bridgeresults.org

Beginners as well as world class players are equally welcome. We will have bulletins as you know them from the Monthly Mixed Teams, the same result software and a top EBL tournament director.

We have tested running events on RealBridge and would like to try this platform for the Monthly Mixed Pairs. We believe that though many like playing without shaving or doing their hair, meeting and chatting to so many opponents will add a social element. It is also possible to mute the audio and turn off the camera while getting coffee (or using the restroom as dummy) to limit the invasion of your privacy. We realize that many may not have not tried RealBridge before, but it is very easy and untui- tive, and a profile is not even required. You simply log on via a link provided by us and play. The event will not be open to kibitzers.

If the tournament is a success, we plan to repeat the Monthly Mixed Pairs April 26-28 and perhaps a weekend, depending on your feedback in terms of format, times and wishes.

We are always happy to receive feedback, ideas and answer any questions you might have. You can write to [email protected].

- 10 - Victim of the Day Allison Howard by Christina Lund Madsen

What is your age, where are you from and live, what do you do for a living and will you ever get married to Mike Cappelletti?

- I am 42 and from Nashville TN. I do not think I will ever get married, a common saying in the south "If it ain't broke don't fix it". Southerners are very practical.

How did you begin to play bridge?

- I learned to play with my Dad. He was quite old,51, when I was born so it was what we did. Allison Howard (Cappelletti) What has been the highlight of your bridge life so far? (doesn’t have to be bridge related)

- One of my favorite bridge moments was - I was the dirtiest kid on every playg- when Mike and I were in the finals of the round. Always. world pairs. I was so nervous and Alan Sontag come to find me to wish me luck. It Name something you are very good at and was just special. very bad at.

What jobs did you have besides bridge? - I am quite good at fishing and horrible, absolutely horrible, with directions. - My favorite job was bartending. What is it like playing with your boyfriend? What is the first thing you will do when the world reopens? - I go thru about 8 diet cokes a day playing with Mike. I am just antsy. - I really want to go to Italy and take our nephew, who came to live with us during You and Mike have been together many Covid because he really wants to go. He is a years now. There is some age difference Cappelletti, after all. between you. Were there concerns by you or anyone close to you at the time (and how What were you like as a child? did you handle it if so)?

- 11 - Allison with Stefania Doran Scott, Justin Lall's girlfriend and also one of Allison's close friends.

If you could give teenage Allie an advice (and she would listen) what would it be?

- I would tell my self to relax and not get so wound up about the small stuff.

- We have been together since 2007. It Who would you like to partner, kiss, kill bet- really amazes me how long it has been. My ween David Gold, Greg Hinze and Giorgia sister in law heard I was dating Cappelletti Botta? and asked me how old I thought he was. I said 42. She looked at me like I was crazy - I would kiss them all. I really miss bridge and said: "He is lying". players. She thought I was dating Cappelletti senior. Family is special. Who do you think should be a future victim in the bulletin? How would Justin Lall have described you in Tell us something you would like to know three words? about that person.

- Justin always said I was one of the few - I nominate Anam Tebha. that could " hang with him". Of course I would sleep for three days when I got Anam has already been Victim of the home. He was worth every second. I really Editor in the past. You can read the inter- miss him. view here.

- 12 - Free, unlimited bridge on BBO

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